Northern Ireland Tourist Board Approved

The house was constructed around 1813, although documents show a dwelling existed on the site previous to this.

The building is made of stone with walls of around three feet in thickness.  There are no foundations, the construction being made on a natural rock foundation.

Killyleagh Castle dominates the town and as was the custom most of the properties were rented from the casle estates.

In 1836,  the rent for our house was, "Two pounds and two shillings per year, the work of a man for a week and six fat hens."  We have this in writing.

It is interesting that while we tend to think that this is the age of conservation, all of the timbers in the construction have been previously used elsewhere.  Lintels, joists and beams show clear evidence of being used in some other structure, possibly a ship.

Although we are situated in the High Street, the rear of the house is secluded and peaceful.  We are visited all year long by a large selection of song birds which add to the pleasure we take from living here.

The building was originally two houses which have been joined together at some stage.  It became clear during the renovations that the smaller of the two houses had been added on later in what must have been a gap between the original houses in the street.

The renovations have taken some time and we have changed very little, simply modernising the existing building.  The windows remain small, the ceilings and doorways low and the stairs narrow and steep.  Here a word of caution, if you have difficulty with steep stairs then regrettably our house is not suitable.

The accommodation in the apartment consists of a kitchen/dining room, a bed sitting room and bathroom with shower.  It is fully centrally heated and equipped with everything to make your stay an enjoyable one.

We are, of course, open to ideas and should you feel that additions are required then please tell us.

The work on the large rear garden is ongoing.  When we came here, the garden was a wilderness and we had to start pretty much from scratch and create a garden from waste ground and derelict buildings.